Photo: New York State Senate
The closely-watched election of New York's 16th congressional district has come to a close with Westchester County Executive George Latimer winning 58.7% of the vote, defeating incumbent Jamaal Bowman. Including a small portion of the north Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County, the strongly Democratic district was one of the nation’s most watched congressional primaries.
George Latimer is a third generation native of Westchester whose community ties are very well known. Serving as the Westchester County Executive, he was urged to run for the primary seat by his constituents and area leaders. The October 7th attack on Israel and ongoing war in Gaza became major issues in this race, as Latimer is very vocally supportive of Israel while Bowman was openly critical. This split in the Democratic party on Israel-Palestine relations in addition to Jamaal Bowman’s membership in the left-wing ‘Squad' led to the involvement of national interest and lobbying groups in this race, which helped Latimer. Ultimately, the NY-16 Democratic primary was the most expensive House primary in American history with more than $25 million spent total.
Willett Public Affairs thanks Rep. Jamaal Bowman for his service representing NY-16 over the past four years and looks forward to working with our future congressman and good friend, George Latimer, after he wins the general election in November.
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